I2SD Conqueror
HIMS ''Conqueror'' was first deployed in 3 ABY under the command of Captain Saz Filborn, fresh from the Fleet Yards at Yaga Minor. It was assigned to the Imperial Fifth Fleet, charged with defending the crucial hyperspace route known as the Tarkin Corridor. In the early days of the Galactic Civil War, Conqueror was regional defense only, and was to be based from Selene until after the Battle of Endor. With the Empire suddenly in chaos, Captain Filborn remained loyal to the Imperial Ruling Council, and directed Conqueror away from Selene to Imperial Center, just scant hours before his superior officer, Fleet Admiral Jard Kisal, went "warlord" and renegade. The majority of Imperial Fifth Fleet, infected by Kisal's panic, jumped towards the Inner Rim and into tumultuous history. Meanwhile, Conqueror's arrival at Imperial Center was met with skeptical enthusiasm, and she was promptly employed with six other sister ships to form the nucleus of the makeshift capital's defense fleet. The next few weeks saw over three hundred ships of all classes rally at this location, with Conqueror tapped as a Section Flagship. At several instances, battle sections and task forces would depart to go quell uprisings, or deal with rogue warlords, or to do battle with the surging Rebel Alliance, but for the most part, time was spent on guard duty and keeping training up to standard. A Storied Career Around two months into internment at Imperial Center, the Alliance discovered the regional capital's location, and began amassing a substantial force to dislodge it. Much heated discussion took place between the various flag officers, and no one course of action was decided upon. Some took their battle sections out to confront the Alliance at locations on the approaches to Imperial Center, while a few prepared themselves to make a stalwart defense of the the system. At this point in history, with so much momentum behind them, the Alliance forces could not be defeated, let alone slowed down, and steamrolled through each and every unit put in their path. The wave of dismal reports preceding the arrival of the lead Alliance assault units spelled it out for the defenders of Imperial Center, and they set to dismantling and evacuating the location as rapidly as possible. Conqueror escaped with half her Battle Section, and headed for Borleias. Once there, she received word from the Interim Ruling Council, and was put onto a "State of Combat Readiness". After four years at the disposal of the Interim Ruling Council, in which Conqueror was dispatched to numerous engagements and events, the Star Destroyer had made a name for itself. While it hadn't achieved the same legendary status as sisters Devastator or Avenger, or gotten itself wrapped up in the events of Grand Admiral Thrawn like shipyard sister Judicator, the mighty ship had performed admirably over the years, and was given a prominent role in the First Fleet of the New Order at the mandate of newly-crowned Emperor Bacharan Valak. Conqueror again rose to prominence during the War of the Throne. When the [[I2SD Sovereign|HIMS Sovereign]] was transferred to Dreven's defensive fleet, High Lord Vassily Korolov transferred his flag to Conqueror. He would remain based off this ship until the re-emergence of Darth Malus, whereupon he would transfer his base of operations to the [[I2SD Inquisitor|HIMS Inquisitor]] in 13 ABY. Everywhere At Once When Admiral Danik Kreldin initiated his Imperial Blitzkrieg, he employed a known, but seldom-used, tactic of rolling command between purpose-made task forces. It relied heavily upon thorough communication, speed, and efficient resource management. Whether it be from familiarity (Kreldin briefly captained Conqueror in 13 ABY) or from rating, Admiral Kreldin chose Conqueror to be his overall flagship, even taking a pass on the Super Star Destroyer made available to him by High Command. The ship took on several elite or veteren squadrons in its fighter complement, as well as the recently battle-tested 6th TF Hammer Army Battlegroup, and departed onto the Blitz. She nearly met her end at the Second Battle of Mon Calamari, wherein she was inundated by an entire New Republic battlefleet. At the center of the aptly-trained, but understrength, Task Force Crimson Star she frequently found herself engaging at least two ships simultaneously from the moment the task force dropped into the system. After the ''Victory''-class Star Destroyer HIMS Pearl broke up under intense bombardment, all efforts were turned on Conqueror. One of the New Republic Assault Frigates, Adamant, already gushing from a severe raking handed out by HIMS Warrior, turned on the flagship and mustered all speed with the intent to ram. Collision was inevitable, but Captain David Stone did well to direct his helmsman to roll the ship over as much as possible, thereby shielding the vital superstructure. The Republican ship impaled itself into the portside hull of Conqueror, causing significant damage, but far short of a deathblow. Stone commanded the helm through a complex roll and Z-axial drop in order to extricate the bulk of Adamant from the Star Destroyer, with assistance from the remaining portside tractor beam. Once clear, Kreldin commanded a retreat-in-order, and Conqueror jumped clear to Fwillsving on her reserve hyperdrive. Once at Fwillsving, her crew got her primary hyperdrive back online, and set about patching up Conqueror as best they could. They would come to know that they had lost two-thirds of the task force ships they had jumped into Mon Calamari with, and Task Force Crimson Star was effectively no more. At the close of the Fwillsvingian day, Kreldin received a HoloNet transmission from High Command, summoning him back to the Core Worlds at best possible speed. Deciding to take HIMS Inexorable (a Carrack-class Light Cruiser) with him, he sent the rest of the survivors on to Sullust, and the blockade that was just set in place there by his subordinate. Rumor has it that Kreldin and Stone both willed the wounded Conqueror back to the Core, arriving there in just under four days. The Star Destroyer limped back into Kuat and the Drive Yards, which opened up their priority slip and had six shifts worth of workers and droids ready to begin repairs on the now-famous warship. KDY set the galactic record for capital ship repair by fixing the Conqueror back to operable status in an astonishing six days. Conqueror would rejoin Kreldin later at the Battle of Barida, but would keep itself relatively out of harm's way while bugs were worked out of repaired systems. Three days later, Conqueror would be declared fully fit for operations, and demonstrated her renewed capabilities by blowing the Nebulon-B Frigate PCS Starshrike to bits during the Battle of O'paal. When the Moff Sekirol Crisis was over, all of Task Force Nebula headed back to Sullust to finish the Imperial Blitzkrieg once and for all. No Other Option Several months after the conclusion of the Blitzkrieg, Conqueror, now under the command of Captain Antal Brencis, was lured into a New Republic trap sprung by its own archrival, [[NRSD Crusader|NRS Crusader]], near the Korriban system. The ''Republic''-class Star Destroyer squared off against its Imperator-class cousin, but more treachery was afoot when both [[MCSC Deliverance|NRS Deliverance]] and [[MCSC Home One|NRS Home One]] arrived on the scene with the rest of their support fleets. Conqueror's two screening Lancer-class frigates were hurriedly sent away; their captains protesting mightily. Captain Brencis, though, saw any sacrifice on their part as a waste of men and resources, and remained undaunted. Brencis turned Conqueror back against Crusader, hoping to initiate a classic one-on-one duel. The New Republic captains would have none of it, as Conqueror had become a mighty nuisance to them over the past year, and the swift defeat of it would be a substantial morale lift. All three major warships engaged Conqueror simultaneously, as well as coordinate their support vessels to add additional firepower. Brencis, while new to the famed Star Destroyer, wasn't short of well-trained and instinctive, and manuvered his warship brilliantly in the face of such odds. A running thirty minute battle was nearly surviveable, as Brencis had executed a series of manuvers, all while under fire, to clear the gravity well and lock out a hyperspace jump solution. Conqueror was a minute from escaping when a salvo of torpedos struck from point-blank range, compromising the unshielded superstructure (the shields had failed some ten minutes ago) and sending a whirlwind of fire and shrapnel tearing through the bridge and other compartments in the tower. Casualties were heavy among the bridge crew -- indeed, Captain Brencis was dead. Thinking quickly, the chief engineer down in the engine room executed the hyperspace jump, and the blind and wounded Conqueror escaped to Etti IV, hoping to find refuge in CSA space. The Republicans are dogged, though, and followed on their quarry's heels to the very fringe of Etti's gravity well. Corporate Sector leadership, normally willing to assist Imperial interests out of traditional respect, have had to be very cautious about their position, lest the New Republic virtually close down the Hydian Way and blockade all of CSA space. Under orders from Danik Kreldin, Imperial commandos infiltrated Crusader while in port and hijacked the enemy Star Destroyer's turbolaser batteries and opened fire on the Imperial fleet that had recently arrived to reinforce Conqueror. A full-scale battle was sparked, and Conqueror, still damaged from the previous engagement and under the command of its highest ranking surviving officer, Commander Lynae Caiton, rammed into Crusader under a heavy barrage of turbolasers and destroyed Crusader. Conqueror was abandoned, inoperable and a wreck, and considered a loss by the Empire. Battles Battle of Coruscant Second Battle of Coruscant Battle of Etti IV Battle of Mon Calamari Third Battle of Coruscant Third Battle of Sluis Van Third Battle of Athaniss Battle of Novar III Fourth Battle of Coruscant Second Battle of Chandrila Fourth Battle of Corellia Second Battle of Mon Calamari Fourth Battle of Sullust Second Battle of Etti IV Captains Captain Saz Filborn Captain David Stone Commander Lanil Jast (de facto) Captain Danik Kreldin Captain Antal Brencis Captain Yoseph Caiton Captain Antal Brencis Lieutenant Jim Doniger (de facto) Lieutenant Commander Lynae Cassius-Caiton (de facto) OOC Information * Conqueror was an un-coded "story" vessel until 2002. During his time as Faction Head, Lorn Rhys held a contest to rename several of the exiting coded vessels to things more Imperial. The most popular name was Conqueror, and submitted by Rook Barnsdale. [[I2SD Sovereign|HIMS Sovereign]] was the primary coded vessel at the time and was renamed the Conqueror at the conclusion of the contest. * Following the Second Battle of Etti IV, in which Conqueror was destroyed, the coded hull was renamed [[I2SD Predator|HIMS Predator]]. She still bears that name as of 2006 Conqueror